Costa Rica Natural Resouces

NATURAL RESOURCESCosta Rica has a variety of the highest in the world. Its tropical location with a wide altitudinal range from irregular sea level to 4000 m and the isthmic position that allowed the migration of species between the continental masses of North and South are perhaps the key aspects that define this valuable function.

To understand the diversity of species is necessary to know something of the geological history and geographical features found in Costa Rica. This territory came into existence 100 million years. In those days there was only one channel in the open sea with many islands, which separates the two oldest in. But as parts of Nicaragua and Panama, this is one of the youngest strips of land on the continent.

Due to tectonic movements in the west, under the Cocos plate slipped under the Caribbean plate stable, it was formed a narrow land bridge that joined North and South America. This strip of land was made by an uprising in the south-east (now the Cordillera de Talamanca) and a volcanic outcrop which extends to the north (the hills of Aguacate and Tilarán). thus began an intensive mixing of species, because plants and animals have migrated along this corridor from north to south and vice versa. On the other hand, the new marine area began a process of diversification between species in both seas because of its geographical position at 10 degrees north latitude, the country is exposed to most of the year to northeast trade winds west from the Caribbean and become moist. This makes the coastal regions, most of the northern plains and mountain slopes that receive these winds with heavy rainfall.